Japan freezes assets of more Russian oligarchs

The Japanese government on Friday swelled its list of Russian citizens and companies sanctioned in the wake of the war with Ukraine, with the freezing of assets of more than twenty people and the suspension of exports to 80 new companies.
Among those whose assets under Japanese jurisdiction will be held until further notice are the head of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov; President Vladimir Putin’s deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko; and presidential adviser Sergei Ivanov.
Also added to the list, which already swells 101 people, the president of the VEB bank. RF (Vnesheconombank), Igor Shuvalov, the largest shareholder of Rossiya bank, Nikolai Shamalov, and Alexei Mordashov, chairman of the steel mill Severstal and the investment group Severgroup, in addition to relatives of oligarchs and politicians already sanctioned.
In addition to sanctioning the finances of eminent personalities of Russia, Japan announced today the suspension of exports to 80 companies and entities of the federation, among which are shipping companies, companies in the aerospace and electronics sector or technological research centers.
The number of companies and entities affected by Japan’s sanctions on account of the war now stands at 130.
Export ban
“We have decided to take additional measures in freezing assets and banning exports to certain entities so that Russia stops the invasion of Ukraine as soon as possible,” government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said of the new sanctions.
At a press conference held after the announcement of the punitive measures, Matsuno said that “the government of Japan will continue to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on Russia.”
Since the beginning of the conflict, Japan has imposed sanctions on Russian citizens, led by President Vladimir Putin, as well as 12 Belarusians, including his counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, seen as supporting the operation.
Like other G7 countries and the European Union (EU), it has also been applying successive rounds of other sanctions that include the exclusion of Russian banks from the Swift system or the veto of exports of semiconductors, machinery for the oil industry and other technology with war potential.
Japan’s financial authorities have also ordered cryptocurrency exchanges to block transactions involving individuals or entities subject to sanctions against Russia and Belarus, and the country is preparing to amend the foreign exchange law to regulate it.

Original source in Spanish